Display apparatus and control method thereof

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are a display apparatus and a method of controlling the display apparatus, the display apparatus including: a signal receiver which receives a signal containing video data for displaying a series of frames; a first data extractor which extracts first caption data from the signal; a data acquirer which acquires second caption data from the extracted first caption data; a second data extractor which extracts the video data from the signal; a buffering section which buffers the extracted video data; a synchronizer which synchronizes the acquired second caption data with frames corresponding to relevant caption data among frames of the buffered video data; and a display which displays the frame synchronized with the second caption data.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No.10-2013-0097394, filed on Aug. 16, 2013 in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Apparatuses and methods consistent with the exemplary embodiments relateto a display apparatus and a control method thereof, and moreparticularly to a display apparatus and a control method thereof, inwhich a caption is displayed and synchronized with an image or a sound.

2. Description of the Related Art

A display apparatus, such as a television (TV), processes a receivedsignal and outputs an image and sound. The received signal may contain asubtitle, a translation or other captioning. The display apparatus mayextract the caption from the received signal and provide the captionwhile synchronizing it with the image or the sound.

However, for example, in terms of processing a translation or the likecaption, it may take time to process the caption because caption dataprocessed by translating the caption data extracted from the receivedsignal may be needed. Such time taken in processing the caption maycause the caption to be delayed and thus not properly synchronized withthe image or the sound. In particular, if an external server is used forprocessing the caption, it may take much time in communication using thenetwork and therefore the delay of the caption will become a seriousproblem.

Meanwhile, the display apparatus may receive a signal through aconnected set-top box. In this case, the caption is not included inencoded caption data but rather, is simply contained in the image.Therefore, in this case, it is impossible to decode and extract thecaption data from the signal, and another method is needed to extractthe caption. If another method is employed for extracting the caption,it will take more time to process the caption, thereby causing aproblem.

SUMMARY

One or more exemplary embodiments may provide a display apparatus and acontrol method thereof, in which a caption can be exactly synchronizedwith an image or a sound even though it takes time to process thecaption.

According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, a display apparatusincludes: a signal receiver which receives a signal containing videodata for displaying a series of frames; a first data extractor whichextracts first caption data from the signal; a data acquirer whichacquires second caption data from the extracted first caption data; asecond data extractor which extracts the video data from the signal; abuffering section which buffers the extracted video data; a synchronizerwhich synchronizes the acquired second caption data with framescorresponding to relevant caption data among frames of the bufferedvideo data; and a display which displays the frame synchronized with thesecond caption data.

The data acquirer may include a communicator which transmits the firstcaption data to a server connected through a network, and receives thesecond caption data from the server.

The signal may include the encoded first caption data, and the firstdata extractor may include a caption decoder which decodes the encodedfirst caption data and extracts the first caption data.

The first data extractor may include a character recognizer whichrecognizes the first caption data in the frames of the video data.

The second caption data may include translation data of the firstcaption data.

The signal receiver may include a tuner to receive a broadcasting signalcorresponding to one among a plurality of channels.

The signal receiver may include a connector connected to a set-top boxand receiving the signal from the set-top box.

The display apparatus may further include a sound output section whichsynchronizes and outputs a sound corresponding to the first caption datawith the frames.

According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, a method ofcontrolling a display apparatus is provided, the method including:receiving a signal containing video data for displaying a series offrames; extracting first caption data from the signal; acquiring secondcaption data from the extracted first caption data; extracting the videodata from the signal; buffering the extracted video data; synchronizingthe acquired second caption data with frames corresponding to relevantcaption data among frames of the buffered video data, and displaying thesynchronized frame.

The acquiring the second caption data may include: transmitting thefirst caption data to a server connected through a network; andreceiving the second caption data from the server.

The signal may include the encoded first caption data, and theextracting the first caption data may include decoding the encoded firstcaption data and extracting the first caption data.

The extracting the first caption data may include recognizing the firstcaption data in the frames of the video data.

The second caption data may include translation data of the firstcaption data.

The receiving the signal may include receiving a broadcasting signalcorresponding to one among a plurality of channels.

The receiving the signal may include receiving the signal from a set-topbox connected to the display apparatus.

The method may further include synchronizing and outputting a soundcorresponding to the first caption data with the frames.

According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, a method ofdisplaying video data is provided, the method including: receiving asignal comprising video data and first caption data, wherein the firstcaption data is data of a first caption; using the first caption data toacquire second caption data, wherein the second caption data is data ofa translation of the first caption; synchronizing the second captiondata with one or more frames of the video data; and displaying thesecond caption data simultaneously with the one or more frames.

The method may further include: synchronizing a sound corresponding tothe second caption data and the one or more frames; and outputting thesound simultaneously with the displaying the second caption data withthe one or more frames.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and/or other exemplary aspects and advantages will becomeapparent and more readily appreciated from the following description ofexemplary embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a display apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 shows an example of a caption contained in a signal according toan exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 shows an example of a caption output by a display apparatusaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing elements of a display apparatusaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing elements of a processor according toan exemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are block diagrams showing elements of first dataextractors according to exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 8 shows that second caption data and frames are synchronizedaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing operations of a display apparatusaccording to an exemplary embodiment; and

FIG. 10 shows an example of a graphic user interface (GUI) displayed bya display apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Below, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail. FIG. 1 shows adisplay apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. A displayapparatus 1 may be a television (TV). The display apparatus 1 receives asignal, and processes it to output an image and/or sound. The signalincludes a TV broadcasting signal. The display apparatus 1 may receivethe signal directly, or receive the signal from a set-top box 4connected to the display apparatus 1.

The signal includes a caption. The caption may be additional informationrelated to the image or sound, and may, for example, include a subtitlefor the image or sound. FIG. 2 shows an example of a caption containedin a signal according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2,the caption contained in the received signal may include a subtitle 22for the image 21. Alternatively, the caption may include independentinformation unrelated to the image 21 or its sound.

The display apparatus 1 extracts the caption (hereinafter, referred toas ‘first caption data’) from the received signal. The display apparatus1 acquires second caption data from the extracted first caption data.That is, the second caption data is data obtained by processing thefirst caption data. For example, the second caption data may be atranslation of the first caption data. The display apparatus 1synchronizes the second caption data with the corresponding image orsound and outputs it. FIG. 3 shows an example of a caption (i.e., thesecond caption data) output by the display apparatus 1 according to anexemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the caption (i.e., the secondcaption data) output by the display apparatus 1 may be a translation 32of the subtitle (i.e., the first caption data) of the image 31.

The display apparatus 1 may acquire the second caption data frominternal processing, or from external processing. In the latter case,for example, as shown in FIG. 1, the display apparatus 1 can acquire thesecond caption data from a server 2 through a network 3. The network 3includes a wired network and/or a wireless network. The server 2 may,for example, include an Internet server. The display apparatus 1 maytransmit the extracted first caption data to the server 2, and receivethe second caption data from the server 2. The server 2 processes thefirst caption data received from the display apparatus 1 and thusgenerates the second caption data. For example, the server 2 is atranslation server including translation information, generates thesecond caption data translated from the first caption data, and providesthe generated second caption data to the display apparatus 1.

The display apparatus 1 synchronizes the second caption data with thecorresponding image or sound and outputs the second caption data.Specifically, the display apparatus 1 buffers data of the image or dataof the sound (hereinafter, referred to as ‘the video data’ and ‘thesound data’, respectively) extracted from the received signal, andsynchronizes the second caption data acquired from the buffered videodata or sound data with the corresponding video data or sound data whenthe second caption data is acquired, thereby outputting the synchronizeddata. Therefore, it is possible to exactly synchronize the correspondingsecond caption data with the relevant image or sound even though time istaken in acquiring the second caption data. Hereinafter, for convenienceof description, the video data will be representatively describedbetween the video data and sound data to be synchronized with the secondcaption data.

The display apparatus 1 may output the sound corresponding to the secondcaption data along with the second caption data. That is, referring backto FIG. 3, the display apparatus 1 may output both the second captiondata 32, translated from the subtitle of the image 31, and the sound 33corresponding to the second caption data 32. Thus, a user can beprovided with a translation of a subtitle not only visually but alsoacoustically, for more convenience for the user.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing elements of the display apparatus 1according to an exemplary embodiment. The display apparatus 1 includes asignal receiver 41, a processor 42, a display 43, a command receiver 44,a controller 45, a data acquirer 46 and a sound output section 47. Theelements of the display apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 4 are exemplary, andmay vary as necessary. That is, although it is not shown, at least oneof the elements constituting the display apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 4 maybe excluded, or another element may be added.

The signal receiver 41 receives an image and/or a sound, and a signalcontaining a caption. The signal receiver 41 includes a tuner to receivea broadcasting signal. The tuner may be tuned to one channel selectedamong a plurality of channels and may receive a broadcasting signal fromthe tuned channel under control of the controller 45. The tuned channelmay be selected by a user. The command receiver 44 receives a user'scommand about the selection of the channel and transmits it to thecontroller 45. The command receiver 44 may include a control panel toreceive a user's command, or include a remote controller signal receiverto receive a remote controller signal containing a user's command from aremote controller.

Alternatively, the signal receiver 41 may include a connector connectedto a set-top box 4 shown in FIG. 1. The connector may request theset-top box 4 to transmit the signal and may receive the requestedsignal from the set-top box 4 under control of the controller 45. Inthis case, the signal of one channel selected among the plurality ofchannels may be received.

The processor 42 processes a signal (hereinafter, referred to as an‘input signal’) input from the signal receiver 41. FIG. 5 is a blockdiagram showing elements of the processor 42 according to an exemplaryembodiment. The processor 42 may include a first data extractor 51, asecond data extractor 52, a buffering section 53, and a synchronizer 54.However, the elements of the processor 42 shown in FIG. 5 are exemplary,and may vary as necessary. That is, at least one of the elementsconstituting the processor 42 shown in FIG. 5 may be excluded, oranother element may be added.

The first data extractor 51 extracts the first caption data from theinput signal. FIGS. 6 and 7 are block diagrams showing elements of firstdata extractors 51 according to exemplary embodiments. First, as shownin FIG. 6, the first data extractor 51 may include a caption decoder 61.In this case, the input signal may contain encoded first caption data.For example, if the tuner of the signal receiver 41 is tuned andreceives the broadcasting signal, the broadcasting signal may includeencoded first caption data. The caption decoder 61 decodes the encodedfirst caption data and outputs the decoded first caption data.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 7, the first data extractor 51 mayinclude a character recognizer 71. In this case, the caption may becontained in the image of the input signal. For example, if the signalis received from the set-top box 4 of the signal receiver 41, thecaption may be contained in the image. The character recognizer 71recognizes the caption contained in the image and extracts the firstcaption data, thereby outputting the extracted first caption data. Thefirst data extractor 51 may receive the video data for recognizing thecaption from the second data extractor 52. For example, the characterrecognizer 71 may employ an optical character recognition (OCR) methodto recognize the caption.

Referring back to FIG. 5, the second data extractor 52 extracts thevideo data from the input signal. The first data extractor 51 and thesecond data extractor 52 may operate concurrently. The buffering section53 buffers the video data extracted by the second data extractor 52.Further, the buffering section 53 may buffer the video data per frame ofthe image.

Referring to FIG. 4, the data acquirer 46 acquires the second captiondata from the first caption data extracted by the first data extractor51. The data acquirer 46 may include a communicator for communicatingwith the server 2 through the network 3. The data acquirer 46 transmitsthe first caption data to the server 2, and requests the server 2 totransmit the second caption data. If the server 2 generates the secondcaption data corresponding to the first caption data, the data acquirer46 receives the second caption data from the server 2. Alternatively,the data acquirer 46 may directly process the first caption data so asto acquire the second caption data. For example, if the first captiondata is a subtitle, the data acquirer 46 may include translationinformation to generate the second caption data of a translationcorresponding to the first caption data.

Referring back to FIG. 5, the synchronizer 54 synchronizes the secondcaption data acquired by the data acquirer 46 with one or more frames ofthe image (hereinafter, referred to as “frames”). The synchronizer 54selects frames corresponding to the received second caption data amongthe frames buffered by the buffering section 53 from the bufferingsection 53. The synchronizer 54 may determine the frames correspondingto the second caption data, based on timing information contained in theinput signal. The timing information employed in the synchronizer 54 mayfor example include presentation time stamp (PTS) information containedin a packetized elementary streams (PES) header extracted from video PESif the signal complies with moving picture experiments group(MPEG)2-transport stream (TS) standards. The synchronizer 54 refers tothe PTS information to determine the frames to which the first captiondata from which the corresponding second caption data is acquiredbelongs, and synchronizes the determined frames with the second captiondata.

FIG. 8 shows that second caption data and frames are synchronizedaccording to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the inputsignal contains the frames 82 of the image, and the first caption data81. The frames 82 and the first caption data 81 correspond to each otherin order of time t1, t2, . . . tn. While the frames 82 are buffered bythe buffering section 53, the first caption data 81 is converted intothe second caption data 83 by the data acquirer 46. The second captiondata 83 is synchronized with the corresponding frames 84 in order ofshifted time t′1, t′2, . . . t′n and displayed as an image. Therefore,according to an exemplary embodiment, the time shift is used to exactlysynchronize the second caption data with the corresponding frame eventhough time is taken in acquiring the second caption data.

Referring back to FIG. 4, the display 43 displays an image of the framessynchronized with the second caption data. For example, as shown in FIG.3, the display 43 may display both the image 31 of the frames and thesecond caption data 32 of a subtitle translation synchronized with theimage 31. The display 43 may be achieved in various types, and may forexample include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel(PDP), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), etc.

The sound output section 47 may output a sound corresponding to thesecond caption data under control of the controller 45. For example, asshown in FIG. 3, the sound output section 47 may output the sound 33corresponding to the second caption data 32 of the subtitle translation.The sound output section 47 may synchronize the sound 33 with the frames31 of the image and output the synchronized sound. The sound outputsection 47 may include a sound processor for processing the sound, and aloud speaker for outputting the processed sound. The sound processorconverts the second caption data into the sound. For example, the soundprocessor may use a text-to-speech (TTS) method to convert the secondcaption data having a text form into the sound.

The controller 45 generally controls the elements of the displayapparatus 1. The controller 45 may include a non-volatile memory forstoring a control program, a volatile memory for loading at least a partof the control program, and a microprocessor for executing the controlprogram. The controller 45 may set up and change settings about thecaption in accordance with a user's command. For example, the controller45 may set up the caption to be on/off, the second caption data to bedisplayed solely, or the first caption data and the second caption datato be displayed concurrently, and so on. Also, the controller 45 may setup the sound output for the second caption data to be on/off inaccordance with a user's command.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing operations of a display apparatus 1according to an exemplary embodiment. At operation S91, the displayapparatus 1 receives a signal containing the video data. At operationS92, the display apparatus 1 extracts the first caption data from thesignal. At operation S93, the display apparatus 1 acquires the secondcaption data from the first caption data. At operation S94, concurrentlywith the operations S92 and S93, the display apparatus 1 extracts thevideo data from the signal. At operation S95, the display apparatus 1buffers the extracted video data. At operation S96, the displayapparatus 1 synchronizes the second caption data with the video datacorresponding to the second caption data and displays them.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a graphic user interface (GUI) displayed bya display apparatus 1 according to an exemplary embodiment. The displayapparatus 1 may further include a graphic engine for processing agraphic user interface (GUI) 101. Under control of the controller 45,the graphic engine may display the GUI 101, which informs a user thatthe image is being processed, on the display 43 in consideration of auser's convenience while the second caption data is acquired from andsynchronized with the first caption data (that is, during the shiftedtime as shown in FIG. 8) until the image is initially displayed afterreceiving the signal.

As described above, according to an exemplary embodiment, the captioncan be exactly synchronized with the image or the sound and displayedeven though time is taken in processing the caption.

Although a few exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, itwill be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be madein these exemplary embodiments without departing from the principles andspirit of the invention. Therefore, the foregoing has to be consideredas illustrative only. The scope of the invention is defined in theappended claims and their equivalents. Accordingly, all suitablemodification and equivalents may fall within the scope of the invention.

1. A display apparatus comprising: a signal receiver which receives asignal containing video data for displaying a series of frames; a firstdata extractor which extracts first caption data from the signal; a dataacquirer which acquires second caption data based on the extracted firstcaption data; a second data extractor which extracts the video data fromthe signal; a buffering section which buffers the extracted video data;a synchronizer which synchronizes the acquired second caption data witha frame corresponding to relevant caption data among frames of thebuffered video data; and a display which displays the frame synchronizedwith the second caption data, wherein the data acquirer comprises acommunicator which transmits the first caption data to a server,connected to the display apparatus through a network, and receives thesecond caption data from the server.
 2. (canceled)
 3. The displayapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the signal comprises the encodedfirst caption data, and the first data extractor comprises a captiondecoder which decodes the encoded first caption data and therebyextracts the first caption data.
 4. The display apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the first data extractor comprises a characterrecognizer which recognizes the first caption data in the frames of thevideo data.
 5. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thesecond caption data comprises data of a translation of a captionincluded in the first caption data.
 6. The display apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the signal receiver comprises a tuner which receivesa broadcast signal corresponding to one among a plurality of channels.7. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the signalreceiver comprises a connector, connected to a set-top box, and whichreceives the signal from the set-top box.
 8. The display apparatusaccording to claim 1, further comprising a sound output section whichsynchronizes a sound, corresponding to the first caption data, with theframe and outputs the sound.
 9. A method of controlling a displayapparatus, the method comprising: receiving a signal containing videodata for displaying a series of frames; extracting first caption datafrom the signal; acquiring second caption data based on the extractedfirst caption data; extracting the video data from the signal; bufferingthe extracted video data; synchronizing the acquired second caption datawith a frame corresponding to relevant caption data among frames of thebuffered video data, and displaying the synchronized frame, wherein theacquiring the second caption data comprises: transmitting the firstcaption data to a server connected to the display apparatus through anetwork; and receiving the second caption data from the server. 10.(canceled)
 11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the signalcomprises the encoded first caption data, and the extracting the firstcaption data comprises decoding the encoded first caption data andthereby extracting the first caption data.
 12. The method according toclaim 9, wherein the extracting the first caption data comprisesobtaining the first caption data from the frames of the video data. 13.The method according to claim 9, wherein the second caption datacomprises data of a translation of a caption included in the firstcaption data.
 14. The method according to claim 9, wherein the receivingthe signal comprises receiving a broadcast signal corresponding to onechannel among a plurality of channels.
 15. The method according to claim9, wherein the receiving the signal comprises receiving the signal froma set-top box connected to the display apparatus.
 16. The methodaccording to claim 9, further comprising synchronizing a sound,corresponding to the first caption data, with the frame and outputtingthe sound.
 17. A method of displaying video data, the method comprising:receiving a signal comprising video data and first caption data, whereinthe first caption data is data of a first caption; using the firstcaption data to acquire second caption data, wherein the second captiondata is data of a translation of the first caption; synchronizing thesecond caption data with one or more frames of the video data; anddisplaying the second caption data simultaneously with the one or moreframes, wherein using the first caption data to acquire the secondcaption data comprises: transmitting the first caption data to a serverconnected to the display apparatus through a network; and receiving thesecond caption data from the server.
 18. The method according to claim17, further comprising: synchronizing a sound corresponding to thesecond caption data and the one or more frames; and outputting the soundsimultaneously with the displaying the second caption data with the oneor more frames.